LAPD: Drone Knocked-Down by L.A. Kings Fans Wasn’t Ours

An unmanned drone knocked out of the air outside Staples Center on Friday night as L.A. Kings fans celebrated did not belong to Los Angeles police, despite reports to the contrary, department officials said.

“It was definitely not an LAPD device,” LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith told The Times in an email. “We have not, and will not deploy Unmanned Aerial Systems until we get approval and protocols in place.”

Video of the drone hovering over crowds celebrating the Kings’ Stanley Cup victory spread across the Internet over the weekend with reports that the drone was one of the LAPD’s Draganflyer X6 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which the department received from Seattle police last month.

The video shows the white, square-shaped drone hovering more than 20 feet above the crowd. After a few moments, people in the crowd began throwing shirts, trash and plastic bottles at the device in an attempt to knock it down.